Speaker enclosures have been known in art for many years, having a generally rectangular shape or having one sloped face. They are known to be covered in carpet or other fabric.
Continuing challenges in the art are to reduce the form factor for shipping and to increase the speed of assembly. Retail establishments that offer assembly services for their customers have very tight timelines for assemblies. For example, one major retailer allows only ten minutes to completely assemble a speaker enclosure, using untrained personnel.
US Patent Publication 2006/0165248 A1 to Butcher, et al. published Jul. 27, 2007 is a useful example of the challenges. Butcher shows four aligned panels held together with living hinges which are intended to fold up into a stack for shipping. In fact the four panels, as taught by Butcher, cannot fold up for shipping because of the nature of the joints that Butcher uses. Products have been sold, allegedly patent pending under Butcher's application, that have two sets of two panels flexibly connected by living hinges. The four-panel stack of Butcher cannot work.
Hence, there is a need for a speaker enclosure that can fold more sections completely and which can be quickly assembled by relatively unskilled personnel. There is also a need for a kit, based on a rapidly erectable speaker enclosure that contains all associated parts and hardware to allow construction of a speaker enclosure that is ready to receive a speaker. The present invention addresses these needs.